Good Morning

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 08/14/2020 at 09:05 • Filed to: good morning oppo, wingspan

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It’s Friday, Oppo, and time to launch ourselves into the weekend.

In this stunning photo, a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! of the California Air National Guard fires an inert !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! unguided nuclear rocket. The Genie was an air-to-air weapon, and was designed to be fired into the center of a large formation of Soviet bombers. In the days before precision guided missiles, this one-shot-one-kill concept was the only way to protect against massed Soviet nuclear-armed bombers.

The Genie was in service from 1958 to 1985, but only a single live rocket was ever detonated, part of a series of tests codenamed !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . The Genie was detonated about 20,000 feet above the Nevada National Security Site at Yucca Flats, and the Air Force, eager to prove that such weapons could be deployed safely over populated cities, had five officers volunteer to stand on the ground underneath the explosion. None of them died prematurely, or was injured in the blast (apparently). Which means, of course, that unguided nuclear rockets are perfectly safe to use.

Just Jeepin' > ttyymmnn 08/14/2020 at 09:16

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Plumbbob being most famous lately for (not) launching a manhole cover into space.

https://what-if.xkcd.com/35/

https://io9.gizmodo.com/no-a-nuclear-explosion-did-not-launch-a-manhole-cover-1715340946

ttyymmnn > Just Jeepin' 08/14/2020 at 09:19

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But how about a refrigerator?

Just Jeepin' > ttyymmnn 08/14/2020 at 09:21

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Now I’m left to wonder whether I ever saw the movie.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > ttyymmnn 08/14/2020 at 09:30

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Everyone would like to start the day with a bang... blow...oomph....job...thing... surely?

ttyymmnn > Just Jeepin' 08/14/2020 at 09:36

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It was the last one, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and it’s a pretty forgettable movie. Somehow, Indy finds himself in the middle of a nuclear test in the desert. 

ttyymmnn > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media 08/14/2020 at 09:36

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Surely. 

InFierority Complex > Just Jeepin' 08/14/2020 at 09:38

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It’s not worth watching to refresh your memory.

Just Jeepin' > ttyymmnn 08/14/2020 at 09:38

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Yeah, never saw it, and based on that clip I’m grateful.

user314 > ttyymmnn 08/14/2020 at 09:40

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Airbursts are so odd looking compared to ground level nukes:

The F-89J that launched the Plumbob shot is preserved at the Montana ANG headquarters in Great Falls.

ttyymmnn > user314 08/14/2020 at 09:47

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Love the Scorpion and that whole era. How many rockets would you like? Oh, I don’t know, how about all of them?

I mean, seriously, the whole idea of launching a shit ton of unguided rockets into a bomber formation was just nuts. I magine how many would miss and fall to the ground God knows where.

And how many Falcon missiles would you like? Oh, as many as I can carry. And just go ahead and bolt them onto the tip tanks. Thanks.

That thing was a beast.

Grindintosecond > ttyymmnn 08/14/2020 at 09:47

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I don’t think ‘unguided’ and ;nuclear’ should be combined ito the same thing....

user314 > ttyymmnn 08/14/2020 at 09:49

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Eh. While I agree that KOTCS is absolutely guilty of trying too hard (which also affected the Sequel trilogy), and casting Shia was particularly unforgivable , it’s still as good as Last Crusade. 

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Just Jeepin' 08/14/2020 at 09:50

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You should be...you should be.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Grindintosecond 08/14/2020 at 09:52

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Have you looked at the United States recently?

user314 > ttyymmnn 08/14/2020 at 09:53

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Shame the F-89 never really acquitted  itself well.

ttyymmnn > user314 08/14/2020 at 09:56

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I thought Last Crusade was the high water mark for that series, after the steaming pile of elephant pooh that was Temple of Doom. I thought the chemistry between Ford and Connery was fantastic, and I enjoyed watching their father/son relationship develop throughout the film. They tried for the same thing with Skull between Indy and Mutt , but it just didn’t work, mostly because The Beef is a rotten actor . But even Ford seemed to be mailing it in, and the constant bickering between Marion and Indy was almost as annoying as Kate Capshaw’s incessant screaming (so much so that her scream was made into a weapon in the Lego game). Plus, Nazis make much better villains than caricatured Russians. I’ll watch Last Crusade every time it’s on TV, but Skull bores me to tears.

ranwhenparked > ttyymmnn 08/14/2020 at 10:01

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They waited too damn long between sequels, the storyline they alluded to ocurring between Last Crusade and Crystal Skull, involving Indy working for the OSS in WWII sounds like it would have made a better movie than fighting Communists for control of alien skeletons  in the jungle.

ttyymmnn > ranwhenparked 08/14/2020 at 10:05

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And that’s the thing. I cared about the story in Last Crusade. Sure, the Holy Grail is as unbelievable as ancient aliens, but the story still feels more believable. The Grail was more than a Ma cGuffin. Skull just felt formulaic.

ranwhenparked > ttyymmnn 08/14/2020 at 10:07

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P lus, fighting Nazis was a more compelling story. Sure, the Soviets were our enemy, but direct confrontation wasn’t their style.

ttyymmnn > ranwhenparked 08/14/2020 at 10:13

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People in general “love” WWII. It’s the last big war we won (not counting the Gulf Wars), and the cause was inarguably just. There was no question who the enemy was, and, to quote Peter Venkman , “We came, we saw, we kicked its ass!” People just can’t connect with the Cold War now that it is behind us. Having James Bond fight the Russians in 1963 made sense when the world was immersed in that struggle. The Cold War feels largely forgotten now, and Russian spies are just garden variety bad guys with bad fake accents. I’m talking to you, Cate.

user314 > ttyymmnn 08/14/2020 at 10:24

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I agree that Ford and Sean worked very well together (“Son, they got us. ”), and I did like the Young Indiana opening. The rest felt a little too much like a rehash of Raiders though.

I’m gonna disagree on TOD too. I think it’s a fun ride (pun intended) . Watching Indy and the PM trade veiled (and not so veiled) comments while the sidekicks “enjoy” dinner served by Andrew Zimmern’s grandfather is still a hoot.

WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI > ttyymmnn 08/14/2020 at 10:45

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Setting off nukes in the stratosphere, what could go wrong?

ttyymmnn > WasGTIthenGTOthenNOVAnowbacktoGTI 08/14/2020 at 10:49

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Better than setting them off on land.

ranwhenparked > ttyymmnn 08/14/2020 at 10:57

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We also had a bit of a roller coaster relationship with them - Russian Empire = friendly ally; Russian Civil War, Bolsheviks = enemies; 1920s = cautious truce, maybe can trade?; 1930s = slightly less cautious; definitely trading partner; WWII = allies, BFFs; immediate post WWII = enemies; Kruschev era = kinda enemies, IDK, maybe we can get along?; early Brezhnev = enemies; 1969-76, D etente, optimistic , maybe we can work together   ; 76-85, who the hell knows from day to day; 85-91, increasingly friendly; Yeltsin era = friends, but a bit of a mess; Putin era = all over the damn place, friends first, then kind of enemies, then sort of friends again, now enemies again.

Whether we’re fighting them, or cooperating with them in a partnership of convenience depends on the year the story takes place , and sometimes, down to what month in that year.

ttyymmnn > ranwhenparked 08/14/2020 at 11:16

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I was a teenager in the early 80s when I first got seriously interested in WWII. I kept wondering, “The US and Russia were allies during WWII. How come we hate each other now?” It wasn’t until later that I learned the adage, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Sure, we were both fighting to stop Hitler, but Russia certainly had their own agenda, and it went far beyond deposing Hitler. Maybe Patton was right after all?

No, he wasn’t right. 

ranwhenparked > ttyymmnn 08/14/2020 at 11:39

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Their agenda being, basically, take over all the parts of Europe Hitler initially agreed that they could have, plus some extra.